Lovely post David-the food you enjoyed looks amazing, especially the oeufs mayo and cod with aioli. Eggs and anything with aioli makes me happy. I love that part of France. We spent several days in St Remy and found the town to be absolutely delightful. I'm looking forward to Part 2 of your travels....:)
St Rémy is nice but is certainly a lot more popular than when I visited it 25 years ago. But it was nice to see places like Joël Durand chocolate and Lilamond, the folks who candy fruit, still there.
Hi David, I love reading your posts. I have lived in Paris off and on for 60 years. My grandchildren (6/9) from Berlin are meeting me end of October. Can you recommend a good bakery that gives classes to families?
Thanks and glad you're enjoying the posts! I don't know any bakeries in Paris that do that (most aren't set up for classes) but La Cuisine does very good French baking classes and may be able to set something private up for you and your family: https://lacuisineparis.com/paris-baking-pastry-classes
Great post comme toujours, Daveed. Do you have an idea of when the Caesar Salad showed up on French menus? To my mind 20 years ago a main course salad would be frisée with baked goat cheese and walnuts, but not Caesar. Even in 2017 I didn't notice it on Parisian menus, but on my visits this year and last, for sure. Even in Pamplona it was a menu item (and not the best choice, I'm sad to say). As for stumbling upon good restaurants, in Biarritz this spring we found one neighborhood joint, Cheri Bibi, with really lovely fresh food. In future will follow your "Le Fooding" advice. You and Romain should explore Le Pays Basque!
When I arrived here, circa 2003, they were showing up on menus, mostly as a curiosity around that time (I think!) Then they gained traction and nowadays even supermarkets sell Caesar Dressing in bottles, which I think led partly to people thinking anything was a Caesar Salad as long as it had "Caesar" dressing on it.
I felt validated after reading your commentary on mediocre food. I was in Calais last month and had dinner at a restaurant that my Airbnb host, who was born and raised there, recommended highly. The food was so bad that I only took a couple of bites of each course. {I should mention that one of my superpowers is picking terrible restaurants while I'm traveling.}
Often when traveling, if you ask at hotels for recommendations, they'll send you to places they think you'll like. Many people often (incorrectly) assume that tourists, or Americans, don't care about food. So when I ask people for restaurant recommendations, when they ask what kind of food I like, I say, "Fresh." That usually gives them pause before giving the recommendation
So much good food, and I was pleased when you gave us an option to look at a proper Daube Nicoise. Like you, my husband is not a great lover of Ratatouille, but I am going to have to cook your recipe and try him out once again. I have not seen Brie/Camembert served with Olive Oil before, an interesting concept. Thank you for a delightful read and the extensions which definitely add to the interest of your posts. I will look forward to episode 2.
That's a fresh goat cheese with olive oil, which is a popular way to serve it in the south of France, although people in Middle Eastern countries often serve fresh cheeses that way as well. It's delicious - especially with good olive oil.
Thank you David, I mentioned the other cheeses as that’s what it looked like. Next time I am out shopping it will look for a round of goats cheese, I only buy it marinated in oil…doh!!! why did I think it was something new lol……what a dumbo I am.
I did get my French drivers license, and it really was as horrible and difficult as your friend said. I'll be publishing a longer piece about it soon on my own Substack. Most French adults I talked to admitted that they didn't think they could pass le Code (the written part) at our age (I was nearly 50 when I took it), now that our brains are less able to retain thousands of otherwise useless details. Then, despite having a valid drivers license for 34 years, I had to pay for ten hours of one-on-one behind the wheel instruction where I learned that according to the French I'm a terrible driver and I use the clutch in ways that are simply not allowed. And it was expensive: about 1,500 euros.
If you're lucky enough to come from one of the US states that has an exchange program with France, you can exchange your US license for free! You have to jump on it, as you have to do it within the first year of residency. Although we don't have a car and rarely rent one, my husband and I exchanged ours so that we would have a valid license when visited the US. We also use it as an ID when we need to pick up a package at the post office.
I often wonder why, if the test is so hard, people drive the way they do in Paris. A friend was taking driving lessons and the teacher was really mean to her. Finally she stopped and asked him why he was being so mean. He replied, "I'm getting you ready for the test."
A French friend's daughter who is the equivalent of a straight A student failed the written test the first time, and she's never failed a test before, so she is completely devastated and won't take the rest again. And yes...as you mention, you have to pay to take more classes, which schools make more money charging for. €1500 sounds cheap - I thought most French driving schools were about twice the price.
I love all the food photos. So colorful and I can almost taste what you are describing. Thanks for taking us on your journey. Looking forward to Part 2.
As you were in Narbonne, did you take in Les Grands Buffets (or one of the other buffets there)? Probably too crass for an accomplished food critic like yourself, but the recent New Yorker article on it was really something - astounding. And why so many buffets in Narbonne?
We didn't go, but a friend had reserved a table months ago - but I decided I wasn't in the mood for an all-you-can-eat extravaganza in the summer, and we might go back another time. I wasn't aware of other buffets in Narbonne but since there aren't a lot of "deal" in France, I think that has an appeal : )
Thank you as always. So evocative and informative. Your dining experiences are very familiar to me - although we are based further west in Occitanie. We mainly cook when we are there - buying local from the markets including the wonderful Victor Hugo in Toulouse. But when we eat out we go by recommendations. Incidentally I notice there is a guinguette very close to La Poterie Not. La Guinguette du Canal. Did you try it? Some of them can be very good. We may find out. 😄
Thank you. We almost always take a picnic with the occasional venture into one of the service centres - mostly ordinary but occasionally a sublime tart au citron. This guinguette has quite a local following on Instagram and a trawl of its posts shows a small seasonal menu. We will see. 😊
Thank you David for sharing your vacation with us..as well as an adorable photo of Romain, who should write a missive describing exactly how to persuade restaurant staff to accommodate
requests. A French couple I met (i.e. nodded in greeting) in the parking lot of a restaurant near
Renoir's Giverny saw my disappointment at being turned away and interceded on my behalf.
I got a lovely table outside; told them merci! I had walked there in the heat from the Giverny gardens. The kindness of French strangers is still fresh in my mind 20 years later.
Restaurants in France can be quirky. A few years ago we were staying with a French friend who lives in Burgundy. We went to a restaurant in her town one night without having reserved and they said they were fully booked. The place was about 1/4 full, but I know most places just do one seating so figured more people were coming. They ended up seating us and no one came for the other tables the entire evening. The same thing happened to Romain and I on this trip the last night; the restaurant said it was fully booked when we called, but when we went in, they sat us...and there were a few empty tables around us that never got occupied.
Your experience with the crummy aioli and ceviche makes me wonder the same thing I always do when confronted with bad restaurants: What in the heck are they doing? Surrounded by the world's best ingredients (in my part of the world, the Pacific Northwest, and your part of the world: ALL of France), they produce such dreck! Why don't they just become auto mechanics or vacuum sales people? What compels them into the restaurant industry when they are so abysmally bad at it? It's like someone buying a paint-by-number velvet Jesus and trying to sell it in a fine art gallery.
In the instance of where we were eating (at the bad meal) the dining room staff knew there was a problem in the kitchen. I told Romain it's the restaurant owner's responsibility to make sure the people are eating good food and they should be in the kitchen if they can't find a good chef. Cooking for people is a responsibility.
David - quick question re: the lovely array of pots/bowls you bought - how do you wash them? By hand?
I was everything by hand when I get it home : )
Lovely post David-the food you enjoyed looks amazing, especially the oeufs mayo and cod with aioli. Eggs and anything with aioli makes me happy. I love that part of France. We spent several days in St Remy and found the town to be absolutely delightful. I'm looking forward to Part 2 of your travels....:)
St Rémy is nice but is certainly a lot more popular than when I visited it 25 years ago. But it was nice to see places like Joël Durand chocolate and Lilamond, the folks who candy fruit, still there.
Wonderful journal of your vacation, your descriptions and photos are mouth watering. Thanks again for sharing!😎
Hi David, I love reading your posts. I have lived in Paris off and on for 60 years. My grandchildren (6/9) from Berlin are meeting me end of October. Can you recommend a good bakery that gives classes to families?
Thanks and glad you're enjoying the posts! I don't know any bakeries in Paris that do that (most aren't set up for classes) but La Cuisine does very good French baking classes and may be able to set something private up for you and your family: https://lacuisineparis.com/paris-baking-pastry-classes
Great post comme toujours, Daveed. Do you have an idea of when the Caesar Salad showed up on French menus? To my mind 20 years ago a main course salad would be frisée with baked goat cheese and walnuts, but not Caesar. Even in 2017 I didn't notice it on Parisian menus, but on my visits this year and last, for sure. Even in Pamplona it was a menu item (and not the best choice, I'm sad to say). As for stumbling upon good restaurants, in Biarritz this spring we found one neighborhood joint, Cheri Bibi, with really lovely fresh food. In future will follow your "Le Fooding" advice. You and Romain should explore Le Pays Basque!
When I arrived here, circa 2003, they were showing up on menus, mostly as a curiosity around that time (I think!) Then they gained traction and nowadays even supermarkets sell Caesar Dressing in bottles, which I think led partly to people thinking anything was a Caesar Salad as long as it had "Caesar" dressing on it.
I felt validated after reading your commentary on mediocre food. I was in Calais last month and had dinner at a restaurant that my Airbnb host, who was born and raised there, recommended highly. The food was so bad that I only took a couple of bites of each course. {I should mention that one of my superpowers is picking terrible restaurants while I'm traveling.}
Often when traveling, if you ask at hotels for recommendations, they'll send you to places they think you'll like. Many people often (incorrectly) assume that tourists, or Americans, don't care about food. So when I ask people for restaurant recommendations, when they ask what kind of food I like, I say, "Fresh." That usually gives them pause before giving the recommendation
: )
I love traveling and eating vicariously with David and Romain!
So much good food, and I was pleased when you gave us an option to look at a proper Daube Nicoise. Like you, my husband is not a great lover of Ratatouille, but I am going to have to cook your recipe and try him out once again. I have not seen Brie/Camembert served with Olive Oil before, an interesting concept. Thank you for a delightful read and the extensions which definitely add to the interest of your posts. I will look forward to episode 2.
That's a fresh goat cheese with olive oil, which is a popular way to serve it in the south of France, although people in Middle Eastern countries often serve fresh cheeses that way as well. It's delicious - especially with good olive oil.
Thank you David, I mentioned the other cheeses as that’s what it looked like. Next time I am out shopping it will look for a round of goats cheese, I only buy it marinated in oil…doh!!! why did I think it was something new lol……what a dumbo I am.
I did get my French drivers license, and it really was as horrible and difficult as your friend said. I'll be publishing a longer piece about it soon on my own Substack. Most French adults I talked to admitted that they didn't think they could pass le Code (the written part) at our age (I was nearly 50 when I took it), now that our brains are less able to retain thousands of otherwise useless details. Then, despite having a valid drivers license for 34 years, I had to pay for ten hours of one-on-one behind the wheel instruction where I learned that according to the French I'm a terrible driver and I use the clutch in ways that are simply not allowed. And it was expensive: about 1,500 euros.
If you're lucky enough to come from one of the US states that has an exchange program with France, you can exchange your US license for free! You have to jump on it, as you have to do it within the first year of residency. Although we don't have a car and rarely rent one, my husband and I exchanged ours so that we would have a valid license when visited the US. We also use it as an ID when we need to pick up a package at the post office.
I often wonder why, if the test is so hard, people drive the way they do in Paris. A friend was taking driving lessons and the teacher was really mean to her. Finally she stopped and asked him why he was being so mean. He replied, "I'm getting you ready for the test."
A French friend's daughter who is the equivalent of a straight A student failed the written test the first time, and she's never failed a test before, so she is completely devastated and won't take the rest again. And yes...as you mention, you have to pay to take more classes, which schools make more money charging for. €1500 sounds cheap - I thought most French driving schools were about twice the price.
Thank you for letting us come along on your journey!❤️
I love all the food photos. So colorful and I can almost taste what you are describing. Thanks for taking us on your journey. Looking forward to Part 2.
As you were in Narbonne, did you take in Les Grands Buffets (or one of the other buffets there)? Probably too crass for an accomplished food critic like yourself, but the recent New Yorker article on it was really something - astounding. And why so many buffets in Narbonne?
We didn't go, but a friend had reserved a table months ago - but I decided I wasn't in the mood for an all-you-can-eat extravaganza in the summer, and we might go back another time. I wasn't aware of other buffets in Narbonne but since there aren't a lot of "deal" in France, I think that has an appeal : )
I love the adventure of Daveed & Romain! Perfect ~
Thank you as always. So evocative and informative. Your dining experiences are very familiar to me - although we are based further west in Occitanie. We mainly cook when we are there - buying local from the markets including the wonderful Victor Hugo in Toulouse. But when we eat out we go by recommendations. Incidentally I notice there is a guinguette very close to La Poterie Not. La Guinguette du Canal. Did you try it? Some of them can be very good. We may find out. 😄
We didn't go there (we had a picnic nearby) but it looked quite popular!
Thank you. We almost always take a picnic with the occasional venture into one of the service centres - mostly ordinary but occasionally a sublime tart au citron. This guinguette has quite a local following on Instagram and a trawl of its posts shows a small seasonal menu. We will see. 😊
Thank you David for sharing your vacation with us..as well as an adorable photo of Romain, who should write a missive describing exactly how to persuade restaurant staff to accommodate
requests. A French couple I met (i.e. nodded in greeting) in the parking lot of a restaurant near
Renoir's Giverny saw my disappointment at being turned away and interceded on my behalf.
I got a lovely table outside; told them merci! I had walked there in the heat from the Giverny gardens. The kindness of French strangers is still fresh in my mind 20 years later.
That picture of Romain smiling at table IS charming.
Restaurants in France can be quirky. A few years ago we were staying with a French friend who lives in Burgundy. We went to a restaurant in her town one night without having reserved and they said they were fully booked. The place was about 1/4 full, but I know most places just do one seating so figured more people were coming. They ended up seating us and no one came for the other tables the entire evening. The same thing happened to Romain and I on this trip the last night; the restaurant said it was fully booked when we called, but when we went in, they sat us...and there were a few empty tables around us that never got occupied.
Your experience with the crummy aioli and ceviche makes me wonder the same thing I always do when confronted with bad restaurants: What in the heck are they doing? Surrounded by the world's best ingredients (in my part of the world, the Pacific Northwest, and your part of the world: ALL of France), they produce such dreck! Why don't they just become auto mechanics or vacuum sales people? What compels them into the restaurant industry when they are so abysmally bad at it? It's like someone buying a paint-by-number velvet Jesus and trying to sell it in a fine art gallery.
A cogent argument but they know that they can usually get away with it and few people will ever name them, just never return.
In the instance of where we were eating (at the bad meal) the dining room staff knew there was a problem in the kitchen. I told Romain it's the restaurant owner's responsibility to make sure the people are eating good food and they should be in the kitchen if they can't find a good chef. Cooking for people is a responsibility.